


Blue

by absolutemagnitude



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 02:40:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9414359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/absolutemagnitude/pseuds/absolutemagnitude
Summary: Pearl's nightly ritual involves a little more than just watching Steven sleep.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the Waxahatchee song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eop1NiC-chQ

Pearl cut a systematic path through the house upon entering. First she turned and counted the gems of the temple door, second she circled the warp pad exactly four times. The house was always dark at this hour so she projected light from her Gem to see as she made her way into the kitchen. She turned the faucet on, gradually increasing the pressure so as not to wake Steven. Pearl had always liked flowing water. It was a fitting background of white noise to the slow passage of cyclical time she experienced on Earth. The water circled the drain again. Drying her hands, she tip-toed around the fridge and frowned at the framed portrait of herself, remembering the time Amethyst had put it in Steven's toilet as a joke. Next she planted herself on the floor in front of Rose's portrait and forced a smile up towards the image. Sometimes she spoke softly, or merely thought the things Pearl wished she could tell her. When she was finished with Rose’s memory, she stood and reached to tap the right corner of the frame. Objects tended to accumulate on Steven's floor and she had to avoid stepping on some. She was able to resist tidying up because she knew Steven should do at least one chore for himself. Still, she liked to lay his clothes out for him. She stood and watched Steven as he slept, his chest rising under his blanket, and cleared her mind of all thought. Her meditation was broken by the sound of the toilet refilling its tank. The leak needed to be addressed, but Pearl refused to go near it. She hugged her shoulders and promptly made her way back to the temple door, tapping the right corner of the portrait again as she passed.


End file.
